Talks and Workshops

Despite the fact that the majority of Uganda’s population lives in rural areas only 1% of them have access to electricity. To be able to extend the grid to new areas in a sustainable and efficient way, models of the consumption of electricity are needed. The aim of this project has been to provide such models based on data collected in Uganda. Measurements and survey-based interviews have been used for the modeling. From the collected data energy consumption on a daily basis has been derived. A closer look has been made on the different parts of the day: night (0-06), morning (06-09), daytime (09-19) and evening (19-24). The sets of data have been grouped depending on the financial situation of the customers since economical factors are dominating in determining the amount of electricity consumed. Daily mean values of different economical groups have been calculated. When dimensioning power systems, peak loads are important and in this case they occur in the morning and evening hours. Extreme values distributions have been fitted to these peaks. The results of the study also show that electrification of rural areas is not, at this time, a solution to the increasing deforestation that is partly caused by the usage of firewood. Electricity does not substitute firewood since it is mainly used for lighting and entertainment. These projects can both create valuable information for the host country, but also increase the cooperation between Universities in developing countries and the “western” world.